THE THEOSOPHICAL PATH KATHERINE TINGLEY, EDITOR VOL. VII JULY, 1914 NO. 1 You would not rightly call him happy who possesses much : far better does he claim the name of "happy man" who knows how to use with wisdom heaven's gifts, and how to bear the pinch of poverty ; who dreads dishonor more than death. - Horace, Odes, iv, 9. THE MEANING OF LIFE AND THE NATURE OF DEITY: by H. T. Edge, M.A. N the review columns of a daily paper recently ap­ J peared the review of a book on " The Meaning of Life "; and although we have not the original, there is enough in the quoted passages and the reviewer's re­ marks to furnish material for interesting comment. The question, " What is the meaning of life? " is not exactly new and original, but it can truly be said that more people are asking that question today than ever before in the history of our present civiliza·­ tion ; so greatly has the consciousness of our humanity become in­ tensified in the rush of life. Moreover there is, as the writer of the book says, a reaction from the ignoring of the question. Who will answer the question for us ? asks the author. "Not the Pope, nor the Archbishop of Canterbury, nor the Chief Rabbi. They know no more about the matter than we do." The sciences cannot give it us either, he thinks ; and suggests that we build our faith on philosophy. He points out that, great as are the victories of science in the material world, the processes by which these victories have been achieved are purely mental. Hence mind comes before matter ; and he concludes, in words like those so often used by H. P. Blavatsky and her students of Theosophy : Thought, spirit, mind, are the ultimate realities, not matter and the atom. So far as I have any share in Reason and Intelligence, I belong to the spiritual order, and have some communion with the Divine Spirit. Therefore though my body decays, my soul does not. Clerk Maxwell, that physicist and mathematician of unsurpassed 1 2 THE THEOSOPH,CAL PATH keenness and clearness of insight, is cited as having come to the con­ clusion, on scientific grounds, that there is intelligence controlling Nature, which shows, in our opinion, that he was to that extent a true man of science. He said : We may learn that those aspirations after accuracy in measurement and justice in action, which we reckon among our noblest attributes as men, are ours because they are essential constituents of the image of Him, who in the beginning created not only the heavens and the earth, but the materials out of which heaven and earth consist. - British Association Address, 1873. Next come the author's difficulties about the nature of Deity, and the ancient problem of reconciling mercy with omnipotence. Says the author : We can allow that He is all-benevolent ; we can even say that He is om­ niscient, though with some necessary limitations. But there is one thing we can­ not affirm. We cannot say that He is omnipotent. Over against Good stands Evil. Over against God stands the opposition of Matter. This doctrine, according to the author, invites man "to help God . to accomplish something helpful to raise humanity to higher levels." And Dean Mansell is quoted as follows : How is the existence of Evil compatible with that of an infinitely perfect Being? For if He wills it, He is not infinitely good; and if He wills it not, His Will is thwarted and his sphere of action limited. On this we would remark that, since the author has invited us to consult philosophy, we would recommend him to take his own advice and to study more deeply the thoughts which the great philosophers of all ages have recorded on these subjects. He seems, however, to be discussing the subject de novo, which is rather common in these days when the thoughts that used to find expression in private diaries can so readily be put into print. Many books that see the light are really little more than students' daily records of progress or landmarks in the history of a mind's development. Still the system is not without its advantages, for the readers to whom such writings appeal are not those who have read the philosophers, and also the style of the writing is more on their own plane. Of course mind and thought are prior to matter, for the contrary supposition is U:ntenable. We must always start our philosophy with our own consciousness, for what else· can we do? Are we to begin MEANING OF LIFE AND NATURE OF DEITY 3 with the assumption that matter has created the mind which philoso­ phizes about it? The chief difficulty about our attempts to conceive somewhat of Deity arises from our impatience to jump at one bound to a compre­ hension of a subject so vast, instead of being content to advance by steps and to remain content with partial knowledge pending the time when we can enlarge it. For instance, we do not know the full ex­ tent of our own mind and soul, or to what height it may be possible for man himself to attain. We see that the universe is directed by intelligent purpose, having ends in view which we can partially discern, but whose ultimate purport lies beyond our comprehension. We know that there is evil and that we have the power to overcome it. What the author says about "helping God " is very helpful here. If man has self-consciousness and the power of decision it would seem that he should use these faculties. The doctrine of the " immanent God " is now widely accepted, even in ecclesiastical circles. This maintains that Deity is present everywhere, and it is in fact merely a restatement of the idea of omnipresence. In this case, Deity is immanent in human nature, and the human conscience is a ray of the Divine Presence, seeking self-expression through man, who is thereby a Divine agent. We can best understand Deity, therefore, by acting as we believe Deity would act or would have us act. In short, the way to attain a knowledge of Deity is by the path of Self-Knowledge. As to the problem of evil, of the same kind is the problem of how to reconcile finity with infinity. When we push philosophy back to ultimates, we must postulate that Good and Evil merge into or proceed from one source; but the danger of stating this conclusion is that some people may seek to derive therefrom certain fallacious doctrines relating to human conduct. The fact is that, for us, Good and Evil are not indistinguishable or indifferent, but are diametrically opposed to each other ; and this fact determines our duty and conduct. The author states that the arguments against the freedom of the human will are very strong. This fallacy is due to the failure of many people to distinguish between the psychic and noetic elements in hu­ man consciousm;ss, ignoring the fact that man is self-conscious as well as conscious. Man is limited in his actiop.s precisely in proportion as he allows his volition to be swayed by psychic and physiological impulses, 4 THE THEOSOPHICAL PATH sensations, and memories; but by devotion to certain principles and ideals he is able to obtain a freedom from those limitations and to draw upon a latent source of power in his own nature. This source is not physiological nor psychic nor hereditary ; it is the immortal Seed in man ; and man's will, so directed, becomes free from all conditions except those of conformity with Divine Law. The distinction be­ tween psychic and noetic action has been recently treated in a special article in this magazine, to which, and to H. P. Blavatsky's book under the same title, the reader may be ref erred. In that book, men of science are quoted in support of the freedom of the will, and the reason why other men of science have fallen into the fallacy of the opposite opinion is clearly shown. As to the main question of the author - " What is the meaning of life? " it may be answered in many ways, and one is - that we are here to learn. So let us learn. Let us study human nature in our­ selves and others ; let us use the powers we have ; let us trust that loyalty to principle will bring greater knowledge. Let us bear in mind that, besides To Do and To Know, there is To Be. The life that we live is mainly composed of a continual effort to avoid silence and stillness. But it is only in the silence and stillness that the meaning of life is to be found. Continual activity, sensation, and diversion give us a false sense of existence that is hollow at bot­ tom. \i\Thenthe Soul tries to speak, we are seized with horror and try to drown its voice. The life of our civilization, as a whole, is of this character ; it is noisy and superficial. To find the meaning of life, we must seek the Real behind the unreal - seek it in the depths of our own nature. We cannot define the Real ; it must be experienced. Everyone believes in some deific power, some power greater than the human will or understanding. If a professed materialist, he will call it "natural law," or some such name, but he believes in it just the same.